It was an auspiciously (and unusually!) sunny day on December 10th and the hills at Crystal Castle were ablaze with colour for our World Peace Stupa consecration ceremony. Three hundred shade umbrellas created a glorious rainbow tapestry punctuated by the rich maroon and gold of the Gyuto monk’s robes and the black costumes of the Arakwal dancers.

Delta Kay and her family from the Arakwal people began the event with a traditional smoking ceremony, welcoming the Gyuto Monks of Tibet to the land and inviting the whole community to walk through the smoke to clear the energy and request the support of the spirits of the land. Naren spoke a few words about the history and the intent of the stupa and Maureen Fallon of Gyuto House Australia talked about the importance of community involvement in creating the stupa.

The Gyuto Monks of Tibet, then performed the consecration ritual for securing the ground where the Kalachakra stupa will be built. The ceremony is performed to appease the spiritual landlords through making offerings and respectfully requesting permission to use the site. At the conclusion the master of ceremony makes the initial cut in the ground as a symbolic gesture that he should be harmed in case the spirits are incensed, not any others who work on the project subsequently. Together Gen Lama, senior Gyuto elder, with Delta Kay and Sono & Naren King, dug a hole and buried the offerings of sacred objects.

It was a beautiful and incredibly heart-warming event, a wonderful start to the project filled with a deep sense of community connectedness and goodwill.

Crystal Castle sends a huge ‘Thank You’ to all who were involved, to everyone who came to be a part of the ceremony and special thanks to Rita & Mark from Byron Curry (Namaste Restaurant) who saved the day with their gift of delicious dahl for the feast that followed.

Project update & fundraising newsWe are currently in the process of designing the landscape around the stupa and talking with builders about the specifics of the construction of the monument. The plans have arrived and the special Kalachakra statue is on its way from Nepal.

We already have sponsors for eight of the 40 handcrafted brass prayer wheels that will surround the base of the stupa. The latest benefactor is the organization that organizes all the visits of His Holiness to Australia, Dalai Lama in Australia Inc. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported the project so far and would love to encourage you to get together with friends and family, as a local group, street or organisation to sponsor a prayer wheel. The name of your family or group will be engraved on your wheel as a perpetual reminder of your generosity.